Wisconsin Physical Therapy CE Requirements (2026): 30 Hours Every 2 Years
Requirements Overview
The Wisconsin Physical Therapy Examining Board, under Wis. Admin. Code Chapter PT 9, sets a biennial continuing education requirement rather than an annual one. Physical therapists need 30 contact hours per 2-year registration period (running March 1 of an odd year through February 28 of the next odd year), while physical therapist assistants need 20 hours. A contact hour is defined as at least 50 minutes of actual attendance or course completion.
Four of the required hours must cover ethics, jurisprudence, or a combination of both — the rule doesn't require a specific split. Hours only count toward the biennium in which they were earned and cannot be applied to more than one registration period, so there's no general carry-over of surplus hours into the next cycle.
Wisconsin's approved-activity table is unusually broad, granting credit for self-study/electronic courses, academic coursework, published articles, mentoring, and even employer-provided training, with no stated cap on self-study or online hours for most categories.
Mandatory Topics
| Topic | Hours | Frequency | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethics and/or jurisprudence | 4 | Every renewal | 4 of the 30 total contact hours (PT) / 4 of the 20 total contact hours (PTA) must be in ethics, jurisprudence, or both -- the rule does not require a split between the two topics, either alone or combined satisfies the requirement. |
Renewal Pathways
Exemptions
- New Licensee First Biennium — Continuing education is not required during the time between initial licensure and commencement of a full 2-year licensure period (i.e., not required during the biennium in which the license was first issued).
- Illness Disability Hardship Waiver — A licensee may apply to the board for a postponement or waiver of the CE requirement on grounds of prolonged illness or disability, or other grounds constituting extreme hardship; the board considers each application individually and may grant a postponement, partial waiver, or total waiver.
How You Can Complete Your CE
Wisconsin CE Rules & Limits
Details specific to Wisconsin that generic CE guides tend to miss:
- 'Contact hour' is defined as not less than 50 minutes a licensee spends in actual attendance at or completion of acceptable continuing education (Wis. Admin. Code PT 9.02(1)).
- The biennial registration period runs from March 1 of an odd-numbered year to February 28 of the next odd-numbered year (per the DSPS CE page: 'Biennium from 3/1/odd - 2/28/odd year').
- Table PT 9.04 sets per-category caps for several non-traditional CE activities: clinical specialization certification up to 12 hours; book authorship up to 12 hours per book, book chapter up to 6 hours per chapter; poster/platform presentation/refereed article up to 6 hours; employer-provided CE up to 15 hours (PT) / 10 hours (PTA); serving as a clinical instructor for student internships up to 15 hours (PT) / 10 hours (PTA); non-refereed article authorship up to 5 hours; developing alternative media materials up to 5 hours total (1 hour per product); serving as a clinical-observation supervisor up to 5 hours; study group participation up to 2 hours per group; mentorship (resident or mentor) up to 5 hours; attending a poster session/lecture panel/symposium up to 2 hours; serving as an APTA House of Delegates delegate or on a professional committee/board/task force up to 5 hours. Seminars, workshops, conferences, self-study/electronic courses, academic coursework, and clinical residency completion have no stated contact-hour limit.
- Activities that do NOT qualify for CE credit: meetings for the purpose of policy decisions; non-educational meetings at annual association/chapter/organization meetings; entertainment or recreational meetings or activities; visiting exhibits (PT 9.04(3)).
- Continuing education hours may only be applied to the registration period (biennium) in which they were acquired and, in no case, to more than one biennial period. Exception: if a license has lapsed, the board may grant permission to apply CE hours acquired AFTER the lapse to a PAST biennial period during which the required CE was not met (a narrow reinstatement/catch-up mechanism, not general carry-over) (PT 9.03(3)).
- New licensees are not required to meet CE requirements during the partial biennium between initial licensure and the start of their first full 2-year registration period (PT 9.03(5)).
- A licensee may apply to the board for a postponement or full/partial waiver of CE requirements on grounds of prolonged illness, disability, or other extreme hardship; the board evaluates each application individually (PT 9.03(8)).
- A licensee who fails to meet the CE requirement by the renewal deadline shall cease and desist from practice (PT 9.03(4)).
- Out-of-state applicants for a Wisconsin PT license must submit proof of at least 30 hours (PT) or 20 hours (PTA) of board-approved CE completed within the 2 years prior to application (PT 9.03(6)-(7)) -- this is an initial-licensure catch-up requirement, not a standard renewal option.
- The board audits CE compliance only for licensees who are under investigation for alleged misconduct, not through routine or random audits of the general licensee population (PT 9.05).
Provider Requirements
No single pre-approval body; a continuing education program qualifies if it is an organized program of learning that (a) contributes directly to the licensee's knowledge, skill, behavior and abilities related to PT practice, (b) pertains to subject matter integrally related to the practice of the profession, (c) is conducted by individuals with specialized education, training or experience in the subject matter, (d) fulfills pre-established goals and objectives, and (e) provides proof of attendance. Table PT 9.04 lists 20 specific qualifying activity categories (seminars/workshops/conferences, self-study/electronic courses, academic coursework, clinical specialization certification, authorship, teaching, clinical residency, employer-provided CE, mentorship, study groups, etc.) with per-category contact-hour caps for some categories. Licensees self-certify completion at renewal; the board audits only licensees under investigation for alleged misconduct, not routinely.
Tips for Wisconsin PTs
- Track your hours against the biennium (March 1 of an odd year to February 28 of the next odd year), not the calendar year — the requirement is a single 2-year total, not split into annual minimums.
- Confirm your license type before assuming the hour count: physical therapists need 30 hours per biennium, but physical therapist assistants only need 20.
- Make sure at least 4 of your hours specifically cover ethics or jurisprudence content — general clinical CE doesn't satisfy this carve-out.
- If you're a first-time Wisconsin licensee, you're not required to complete CE during the partial biennium between initial licensure and the start of your first full 2-year period.
- Since Wisconsin only audits licensees who are under board investigation (not routine random audits), keep your own attendance records rather than expecting a compliance check to catch missing hours before renewal.
Sources
Each figure on this page is taken directly from the Wisconsin Physical Therapy Examining Board's official rules and continuing-education sources and recorded with the exact source excerpt. Last verified Jul 2026. Read how we compile and verify this data.